joining me political analyst michael steel and managing editor. thank you both for joining us. this is a fascinating time. i picked up the paper this morning, joy, and i noticed progress. i know it's for the first time we're in the same room together. i noticed when you looked at the numbers, with the washington post, which is a great paper, covering washington, as you know, it looks as if they're going to get somewhere short of a trillion on spending. i eechl looking at the whole thing. it looks like they're making progress. your assessment? >> i think there's progress except that whenever john boehner makes public statements. he's continuing to say that the revenues can come. i think it's clear that the white house is not going to give on that. boehner is going to have to find a way to get his caucus to understand that the top rats are going to come up. there's a lot these two guys can work on, but boehner has got to give. >> why do you think the president is spending so much time on the road drumming up this i shassue of making sure t the regular people, the 98% get the tax